Help to upgrade netbook to SSD

hill041 · 21 Jul 2011 at 03:06

Hi everyone, I have a Packard Bell Dot U Netbook - its quite powerfull compared to other netbooks in that it runs Windows 7 64bit with a Intel Core2 Duo CPU and has 3 Gb of DDR3 RAM. Its a great little leightweight device and perfect for travelling on the move however it is a little slow.
So i'm considering splashing out on a OCZ Agility 3 120GB 2.5" SATA-3 Solid State Hard Drive to rev it up. (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-076-OC&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=1427)

Has anyone ever replaced a Laptop HDD with a SSD? Is it as straightforward as it looks? Can I simply clone my 250Gb HDD to it using one of the kits that are available? Or is it better to reinstall windows? If I fit the SSD will my Packard Bell system restore disk/hidden partition still work?

Also, is this the best SSD to go for? Will the speed be limited by my SATA II interface? I understand it is backwards compatable but will it limit it?

Thanks guys, any help will be much apreciated!

R088ieS86 · 21 Jul 2011 at 08:30

Hi,

If you go with the Agility 3 then you will be limited to around 285MB/s read/write speeds.
So almost half of what is fully possible.
I'd recommend a reinstall but have never cloned a drive from HDD to SSD so can't say if any issues would occur.
When you first boot with the SSD installed go into the BIOS and set sata to ACHI.
You'll need this for TRIM support.

Tekgun · 21 Jul 2011 at 09:20

The Agility 3 is a good drive, but you will be limited to sata 2 speeds. You might be able to save a few pounds getting a sata2 SSD.
Personally I would not clone the HDD data to the SSD, instead do a fresh install of Windows 7. Like R0088ie said make sure ACHI is enabled in the BIOS. You should be able to burn a dvd of the recovery partition, just make sure it works before you delete any data on your old HDD.

olivier renault · 21 Jul 2011 at 09:58

You don't need a uber fast SSD in a laptop.

I've installed a 120GB SSD in a UL30A. I've installed everything from scratch. In fact, the hard drive has never been used and is as it was when I got it delivered

It was pretty straight forward. Windows install went easy (AHCI as well).

I used a win 7 home premium retail dvd, and the win7 key from under the laptop.

The problem was getting to know the drivers and various programs I should install on the laptop. But it's running very nice indeed now, with all the power saving utils and so on. It's a great combination with a thin and light netbook. Open it, boots in seconds, do some stuff, close it, and battery last forever in sleep...